HELP WANTED

The Volvo Museum Göteborg has posted yesterday two photos of a Volvo PV544 pedal car. They are seeking info's regarding this pedal car. The photos have been found in the archives of the Volvo Museum Göteborg.Do you have any info's regarding this model? I have posted posted two photos of a similar model back in 2012. I'm too looking for further info's regarding this specific model.

I found last year on an auction site the scale model which you can see in the attached photos. It is a Volvo S80 made by in China by Hongwell and released under the label Abrex / Cararama. It is a 1:43 scale model made out of diecast. The silver metallic model comes in a livery of a department called 'Arson Investigation'. That is so far everything I was able to find out about this model. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any info's.

Volvomax was able to solve the mystery regarding this Volvo Amazon faux-convertible. Here is what he wrote :

These models were sold by me in the 90's to members of the German Volvo-club. The producer was my Belgian friend Armand Ruhl who made probably 20 of each version, 10 of each for me and my customers. I still have some of these items still in stock.

Armand Ruhl offered his models under the name M.R. Cars. I think he stopped back in 2003 making model cars. This 1:43 scale model is made out of resin. The overall quality is fair. But a closer look at the model reveals many tiny air bubbles in the resin. The painted details on my example are ok. The quality of the glass is poor.

I once bought in Germany a Volvo V70 by Minichamps and received it packed in the box you can see below. The German text on top of the cardboard inlay reads 'DIE VOLVO WELT STEHT IHNEN OFFEN' which means : 'The Volvo world is open to you'. The outside of the cardboard is plain white. Does anyone has more infos about this specific packaging. I have never seen another like this.

A Dutch Volvo collector has acquired this 1:43 scale model decorated as Swedish Polis car. We ignore however when this precise model has been released and under which label. It has most probably been sold as a Hongwell or Brio Junior Driver model. But we are not sure and we were not yet able to determine the precise origin. Here is a link showing various other similar versions : emergencydiecast.com/policesehongwell

UPDATE :

Michelle That is one of the very first versions issued in Sweden, and with the incorrect livery (since the Swedish Police never had a blue stripe). It was later corrected to the first version with blue fenders and gradually for each reissue it became more and more correct. I think the first version appeared around late 1990´s. I know the first 2 versions were sold at the same time in a large giftset as Junior Driver. see some attached pictures from my collection

I have seen the following Volvo Amazon models only once over the past years. I have no idea who produced these 1:43 scale models. I also ignore if the two 'convertibles' are from the same source. There are a few points that allow to pretend that it is however the same model. Any help is warmly welcome.

Silvio Righetti, a modeler from Switzerland, has produced back in the 1980's inter alia the two following Volvo scale models. I have knowledge that a Volvo PV36 and a PV61 Nordberg convertible have been available. Both models were made out of white metal. Their scale is 1:43 or perhaps a little smaller. Does anyone know more about these miniatures and/or about Silvio Righetti ?

A German collector just send me these pics showing a tiny Volvo S60 (2000-2009) model. The S60 is made of metal and features a square base under the bottom-plate. The Volvo S60 has been delivered together with a big key ring and was packed in a black cardboard box wearing the Volvo logo. But there's no sign who has produced it. The dimensions of the model are : 20.4 mm long, 7.8 mm width, 6.1 mm high (without base) and 10.4mm high (with base). This results in an approximative scale of 1:225.

I do not know much about this Volvo 460 GLE model. As you can see the model is in fact a key-holder. It comes in a simple box. I presume that this model was released or distributed as gift when the real car was launched in the 1990's. The model is made of metal. The metal of the bottom-plate is rather soft and tends to bend rather quickly. It seems to be glued to the body. I was not yet able take both parts apart. The model is 50.9 mm long, 20.4 mm width and 15.5 mm high. These dimensions result in a near exact scale of 1:85.

Here is another Volvo key-holder. This one is a Volvo 960 and the text inside the cover of the box gives more info about this one. This 960 GLE and the 460 GLE are very similar and it is quite obvious that both are made by the same manufacturer.

I falsely labeled this tiny model as Volvo 855. Jan, an avid visitor from Germany just pointed out that it is more likely a Volvo 745 since the rear lamps stop at the middle of the tailgate. And after checking the photos once again, I have to admit that the front resembles also more to a Volvo 745 than a 855.The 1:200 diecast Volvo 745 break measures only 23x8x7 mm. It has a rather small spigot on the bottom.

The green Volvo 855 in the background is a H0 ( 1:87 ) model by Wiking. The difference in scale is striking when comparing both models.

The Volvo 745 is produced in Great Britain by Graham Avis Details and distributed by the shop 4D modelshop Ltd.They have the Volvo listed as 1:150 scale model. This does however not match with the size of the tiny car.